MacBook Pro Hard Drive Cable
15" MacBook Pro "Santa Rosa" Hard Drive Cable
Machine Type: MacBook Pro (sliver keyboard)
Symptom: When the laptop is moved, the system powers off, even while running off AC power.
Likely Cause: Bad Hard Drive cable.
The hard drive cable on the MBP consists of the SATA hard drive interface(1), the connector for the sleep light(2), the IR connector(3) and the logic board interface(4)
If specific care is not taken when changing out the hard drive, the cable can become damaged. This damage may not be noticeable to the naked eye.
When the hard drive cable gets damaged, the signal can get broken when the cable is flexed (the Mac is moved.) When this occurs, the system sees it as a possible short and immediately powers off.
So far, we’ve only seen this issue on books where the hard drive was installed by a 3rd party or DIY.
Although the issue at first appears to be power or logic board related, a new hard drive cable is all it takes to bring the MacBook Pro back to normal.
This is a good example of how delicate these cables are and why proper cable handling is important.
[ MyService Free Diagnostic ] Suspect your MacBook Pro has this issue? We can help.
Damn damn damn damn! WHYYY! This is my problem! I suspected the SMS. It’s not. It’s this. Fantastic.
Can a short causing an immediate power down be diagnosed by disconnecting the cable from the logic board and attemping a boot from firewire? Will the MBP even turn on if the cable is disconnected or will it see this as a problem an shut down immediately anyway?
@AmosK Yes, the MBP will boot off of FireWire with the HD cable disconnected. This is a good troubleshooting step, however the problem may still persist if the logic board or
DC-in cable was at all damaged in the short. Usually a new HD cable will do the rick but we’ve seen other components that have needed to be replaced as well. Good luck!